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Sterile Flies Being Released To Combat Screwworm Case Found In Homestead

Handout picture taken on June 9, 2010 of a scientist showing sterile screw-worm flies (Cochliomyia hominivorax) larvae, at a laboratory in Pacora, eastern Panama City. More than 200 people work in the Sterile Flies Producing Plant, a laboratory with a strong US support, from where every week, between 33 and 40 million sterlile flies are sent to the Darien jungle, between Panama and Colombia, to be released there to fight the progressive expansion from South America of the screw-worms, which affect the cattle and are risponsible for high economic losses. (Photo by Juan Jose RODRIGUEZ/AFP/Getty Images)

The announcement was made by the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services.

The parasitic infestation has plagued the Florida Keys and now has spread to the mainland.

New World screwworm eats the flesh of living animals.

The sterile flies will be released on Friday, January 13th in the Homestead area as a precautionary measure.

“While the dog has been treated and is doing well, there are still a lot of unknowns about the dog’s history and recent locations. Given that Florida’s livestock industry is at stake, this sterile fly release is a precautionary move to ensure we’re doing everything we can to aggressively eradicate the screwworm from Florida,” stated Commissioner of Agriculture Adam H. Putnam.

New World screwworm was first confirmed in late September on Big Pine Key.